10 percent rule may be loosened in TexasUT seeks relief in measure tentatively OK'd in House

JANET ELLIOTT, Austin Bureau |
May 25, 2009

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AUSTIN — High school students who aren’t in the top 10 percent of their class could find it easier to get into the University of Texas at Austin under a bill tentatively passed Monday by the House.

The bill, which needs a final vote, would allow public universities to cap automatic admissions to 75 percent of an incoming freshman class. The university would have discretion over the other 25 percent of admissions.

This would give UT some relief from the estimated 86 percent being admitted under the top 10 percent law this year.

Students who graduate in the top decile of their class still could be automatically admitted to other state universities. The new law would affect students entering college in the fall of 2011.

“If we don’t act quickly, that university will be completely overwhelmed with automatic admits,” said House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, author of the bill. He said it would offer “some room, some discretion, some hope for the rest of our 90 percent of students.”

The heavily debated House bill, passed on a vote of 121-24, differs significantly from a Senate bill passed in March. The Senate version would give UT discretion over 40 percent of its admissions. Differences would need to be worked out in the coming week.

House members from a variety of districts -- urban, suburban and rural -- worked out the compromise with top UT officials over the weekend

But the author of the Senate bill, Senate Education Chairman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said she wasn’t invited to the talks. Shapiro said she didn’t agree with capping automatic admissions at 75 percent instead of 60 percent, but would talk to university officials and her colleagues about the House changes.

Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, said the relief provided to UT-Austin would allow it to fill nationally recognized programs in areas such as geosciences and education with students who did not rank in the top 10 percent.

The 1997 law was passed to boost minority enrollment at UT after a federal court ruling prohibited admissions officials from considering students’ race and ethnicity. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 ruled that public institutions of higher education could use race as a factor in deciding which students to admit.

Texas A&M University and UT’s Dallas campus both admitted close to half of their freshmen class under the law last fall.

Admissions officials at UT-Austin have been seeking relief from the 1997 law for years. They say they want to be able to recognize qualified students who have special abilities but do not rank in the top 10 percent.

Supporters of the current law say it has leveled the playing field for students from inner-city and rural schools. Hispanic enrollment at UT has grown by 7 percent, enrollment of black students is up by 3 percent and enrollment of white students is down 13 percent.

They also say that more students from smaller high schools are being admitted, with 865 schools now sending graduates to UT compared with 616 before the automatic admissions law.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said it is “desperately wrong” that African-American men make up only 6 percent of the student body at UT, but are well represented on the schools’ sports teams.

The House bill includes provisions to inform students and parents about changes in the law. It also requires UT to expand class offerings at night, addressing a criticism by some lawmakers that UT should expand the number of students it admits. UT also agreed to end legacy admissions, lawmakers said, referring to a practice of giving preferential treatment to children of influential alumni.

The bill calls for UT to revert back to full admission of top 10 percent graduates after six years, or in the event of a final court ruling barring the university from considering race or ethnicity.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio had been a stalwart opponent to watering down the top 10 percent standard but supported the compromise.

“I think this agreement is a fair compromise that preserves the spirit of the top 10 percent rule and ensures that under-represented students continue to have a clear path to UT-Austin,” said Castro, vice-chair of the House Higher Education Committee.